A number of batteries employ electrodes in the form of a thin layer of electrode active material in contact with a conductive substrate which acts as a means to convey current to the electrode or as a current collector. The conductive substrates include a variety of materials such as metals as exemplified by a thin aluminum sheet or foil, or conductive plastics as exemplified by Condulon, a vinyl resin containing sufficient carbon black to be highly conductive. Contact between the electrode material and the conductive substrate is established in a variety of ways including physical contact and by depositing or adhering the electrode active material on the substrate. Similarly, a variety of methods exist for establishing the contact such as by vacuum depositing the electrode active material on the substrate or by electroplating the electrode material on the substrate.
It is the object of this invention to provide a new and facile method of electrodepositing an electrode active material on a conductive substrate in predetermined areas having a substantially sharp demarcation so as to produce laminar electrodes of preselected shape for use in flat laminar batteries or cylindrical batteries such as "D" cells. Another object of the invention is to provide a new apparatus which can be employed in effecting the method of the present invention. These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.